COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update: 28 April

Following on from last week’s update I’m pleased to let you know that our staff have already conducted one-to-one conversations with over 500 event teams and ambassadors around the world.

It’s been an incredibly moving experience for all of us, but also really uplifting. Thank you to everyone who’s given us some of their precious time so far.

If you’re reading this and you’re an event director or ambassador and haven’t yet scheduled a call with us then please do consider doing so. The knowledge that we’re gaining from these calls is important with regards keeping things going during the period our events are closed, and will be critical when we come to make the decisions at appropriate times to reopen our events.

Whilst we haven’t yet completed the calls and carefully reviewed the feedback, a couple of points are frequently being raised across the parkrun world …

How much notice will event teams receive prior to re-opening?

It’s clear that the entire parkrun family is keen to get going as soon as is appropriate, whenever that might be, but at the same time some events are concerned that they may not have enough time to bring their volunteers back together, check their venues, dust off their equipment etc.

Please rest assured that volunteer welfare is at the heart of everything we do and, although likely to vary from location to location, we will ensure that teams have plenty of time to prepare between any public announcement and their first event back. This will be a minimum of two full weeks, but likely longer.

Will we reopen region-by-region or wait until all 22 parkrun countries are ready to go?

There are so many unknowns at this point in time that, whilst we are scenario-planning many options, it would not be helpful to pre-empt the exact process for re-opening.

What we are absolutely committed to however, is considering what is most appropriate for each and every parkrun country itself and providing the most appropriate solution for them.

It is likely therefore that some countries will re-open before others, although, again, it’s too early to predict at this stage.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences with us, and please know that the entire parkrun family is with you at this time.

We will get through this, together.

Tom Williams

Chief Operating Officer, parkrun Global

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